‘We are called to promote a culture of life where people are more important than possessions,’ the cardinal stresses in a Respect Life Month video.

WASHINGTON — A year-long initiative from the U.S. bishops is calling the faithful to respond to the needs of the unborn, supporting life in its most vulnerable stages.

“We are called to love and respect one another as Christ does,” said Cardinal Séan O’Malley of Boston, who heads the pro-life committee for the U.S. bishops’ conference, in an Oct. 4 video.

In the video, he delivered a message for Respect Life Sunday, which took place this year on Oct. 6 in dioceses across the country.

Respect Life Sunday kicks off Respect Life Month, the cardinal explained, as well as “a full year of programs devoted to promoting and upholding the dignity of every person’s life, from the first moment...READ MORE

Abortion, public prayer and HHS mandate cases are under review.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is diving into a new term, with several cases threatening court precedents dealing with abortion and public prayer.

Church leaders and religious-freedom advocates are also waiting to see whether the high court will agree to hear one or more appeals in legal challenges to the Health and Human Services’ contraception mandate filed by for-profit employers who oppose the federal law on moral grounds.

While the justices are not slated to hear blockbuster cases like recent challenges to the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, or the federal Defense of Marriage Act, The Washington Postnoted that the high court has increasingly become the “uneasy...READ MORE

Candace Wheeler of Restoration Ministries says only the Church can bring Christ’s love and needed support to women and girls written off by society as ‘throwaways.’

WASHINGTON — Although largely unrecognized, sex trafficking in the United States, especially of young girls, is a serious problem, and its victims need the loving support that Christ’s Church can give, says the head of a ministry based in the nation’s capital.

“We need to get people to pay attention to the plight of American girls,” said Candace Wheeler, founder of the Washington-based Restoration Ministries, which seeks to bring Christ’s love and aid to victims of sex trafficking.

“These girls need the body of Christ, and the body of Christ needs them,” Wheeler said.

Chicago restaurant Kuma’s Corner put an unconsecrated host on its new ‘ghost burger’ to honor a heavy-metal band.

CHICAGO — Catholic Charities of Chicago has rejected a $1,500 donation from a local restaurant, which drew offense by releasing a burger topped with an unconsecrated host.

On Oct. 1, Kuma’s Corner announced its new “ghost burger,” a cheeseburger topped with a red-wine reduction and an unconsecrated “communion-wafer garnish,” which the restaurant parenthetically described as the body and blood of Christ.

The blasphemous burger was created as a tribute to a Swedish band called “Ghost B.C.” that is currently touring. The band is known for its Satanic lyrics and themes. Its lead singer dresses as a clergy member with skull face paint, and other band members wear distorted religious...READ MORE

The owner of the company that restored the church said bringing it back was 'important for the self-esteem of the town.'

MADRID — Thanks to the donation of a local family, Sts. Cosmas and Damian parish in the Spanish town of Ansoáin was reopened to the public recently, after having closed its doors 30 years ago.

On Sept. 30, Bishop Juan Aznárez Cobo, an auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Pamplona and Tudela, said Mass at the parish to reopen it. The date was chosen because of its proximity to the Sept. 27 feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the patrons of Ansoáin.

Ansoáin is a suburb of Pamplona, in the Navarre region. The reopening of the parish came through a donation from Felisa Sarasibar Esquiroz and her family, according to the local Diario de Navarra.

In the face of faculty opposition to dropping coverage completely, the Jesuit college’s trustees opt to allow a third-party plan to provide elective employee abortions.

LOS ANGELES — The board of trustees at Loyola Marymount University has handed down a Solomonic decision in the controversy over the university’s abortion coverage that may end up leaving few happy. Although the board confirmed LMU will no longer provide health plans that cover elective abortion, the Jesuit university will help employees find alternative plans that do.

The board held an Oct. 7 meeting to discuss the decision to drop elective abortion coverage from all LMU health plans starting Jan. 1, 2014. Board chairman Kathleen Aikenhead and LMU's president, David Burcham, revealed that the board had ratified that decision, but stated that it would not affect coverage for...READ MORE